Dr. Fishel talked about the importance of story-telling at the dinner table at the 92Y’s annual parenting conference on April 17, 2016. The conference was entitled, “Parenting: What you Bring to the Table,” and also featured Drs. Michael Thompson and Kyle Pruett, as well as the actor Hank Azaria on fatherhood.

She was featured in a Q and A in New York Family about her talk: http://www.newyorkfamily.com/why-family-dinners-are-so-important/

Recently, Dr. Fishel was honored to appear as a guest on the Live Happy podcast, talking about family dinners and discussing her book with listeners. In the episode, Dr. Fishel offers research, wisdom and advice about:

Why regular family dinners are great for the body, brain and the spirit

Tips for thriving conversation around the dinner table

Why playing with your food is beneficial to mental health

Ideas to overcome picky eaters, busy schedules and tension at the table

Each year, more than 9 in 10 Americans gather around the table with family and friends for Thanksgiving. But only 50 percent of us eat with our family on a regular basis. That’s too bad. Twenty years of research has shown that family dinners are great for the brain (enhancing preschool vocabulary and raising test scores), body (improving cardiovascular health in teens and lowering the odds of obesity) and spirit (reducing rates of behavioral problems, stress and substance abuse). But in extolling the virtues of the family dinner, we may have obscured what the meal is actually about and why it serves parents and children. In that gap lies a thick stew of myths.

1. Teens don’t want to eat with their parents
2. Family dinners are anti-feminist
3. Family dinners depend on a homemade meal
4. Families don’t have time to pull it off
5. Food fights make family dinners impossible

Read the article in full and find out what Dr. Fishel has to say about these five common family dinner myths on The Washington Post.